The present disclosure relates to the art of electrical distribution equipment and, more particularly, to a loading rail assembly for an electrical distribution device assembly.
Conventional switchgears include a plurality of drawout units each housing one or more switching devices, such as motor controllers and circuit breakers. Each switching device is releasably interconnected to one or more busbars. Periodically, the drawout units require removal to facilitate maintenance and or replacement of the associated switching devices. In many cases, removal of the drawout units is a relatively simple task. An operating bar is actuated to urge the drawout unit away from the busbar to disconnect the switching device. At this point, the drawout unit is simply shifted out and removed. In other cases, removal of the drawout unit requires special handling equipment.
Larger switchgear often times employ circuit breakers that weigh in excess of 250 kg. Removing and/installing a drawout unit provided with such a circuit breaker generally requires a crane. The crane is used to either lift and position the drawout unit at the switchgear, or remove and lower the drawout unit from the switch gear. In either case, supporting the drawout unit at the switchgear for attachment/removal of the crane is awkward. The drawout unit is supported an opening of the switch gear and often times cluster contacts on the circuit breaker do not completely clear secondary contacts located on a substructure within the housing. Thus, front and back alignment is often necessary when loading the circuit breaker from the crane during installation and removal.